Wednesday’s Headlines: Fun Times in Fun City Edition

Today should be fun. At around 11:30, transit advocates with the Riders Alliance will gather on the roadway outside  Gracie Mansion and paint a bright red dedicated bus lane — you know, to shame the mayor into building more dedicated bus infrastructure so long-suffering transit riders can get a break.

We’ll be on hand and may lend a brushstroke or two.

Then at noon, the Department of Transportation will announce the three companies that will participate in the e-scooter share pilot program in The Bronx. Commissioner Hank Gutman will handle the announcement personally.

Then, later, we’ll head to the 114th Precinct in Astoria to present Capt. Ray Jenkins with the trophy for winning losing our monthlong March (Parking) Madness competition with a stunning victory over the 34th Precinct of Washington Heights. We’ve spent more than an hour over the last two days trying to get Jenkins on the phone to tell him the good bad news, but he hasn’t responded. Won’t he be pleased surprised when the Streetsblog crew shows up with our trig-level award (see photo, right)?

Remember, we get one phone call.

In other news:

• Everyone follow our huge scoop of the Amazon van driver who stole open streets barricades in Greenpoint on Monday night. The Daily News story should have pointed out that in addition to the theft, a Brooklyn barricade volunteer was assaulted last week, as our other scoop this week pointed out. The Post used Streetsblog’s video, which was nice, but didn’t use our Data For Progress poll numbers (another scoop!) showing that open streets are wildly popular.
• In yesterday’s headlines we pointed out that the MTA thinks Mayor de Blasio is souring people on returning to the subway. Well, the mayor fired back on Tuesday, riding the subway himself to show support (NYDN, NY Post, ). Of course, NYC Transit re-fired back, saying that its workers are being attacked (amNY).
• Andrew Yang participated in an anti-police brutality bike ride, but it didn’t go well for him, as he was hacked for being “pro-cop” (NY Post). Um, if you really want pro-cop, look no further than Curtis Sliwa (whose civic renown, lest we forget, exists almost entirely because he started a patrol group to show up the cops back in the day). (NY Post)
• The Post wrote up the terribly sad story of the death of Lance Margolin after he was hit by a light pole that had been knocked over by an MTA bus driver.
• Sorry, but the NYPD’s robot dog is not only creepy, but, Dermot Shea, read the room, please: If you’re going to deploy a dehumanizing drone, must you use it first inside a public housing project? Pathetic BS from an agency that still doesn’t seem to know better. (Gothamist)
• The police killing of Daunte Wright in Minnesota is renewing calls to get the NYPD out of traffic stops. (amNY)
• Gothamist did a big takeout on the mayoral candidates’ positions on open streets.
• Congrats to former DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg on her confirmation by the Senate to be the number 2 at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Finally, Streetsblog can start pestering her office with questions about bike lanes (albeit ones in Montana). (Washington Post)
• Our Streetfilms colleague Clarence Eckerson Jr. took our open streets poll story yesterday and turned it into a great 53-second explainer. Watch it here or below:

• Friend of Streetsblog Doug Gordon spotted the mayor’s motorcade running a red light in Park Slope yesterday. Ugh. What’s the rush, Mr. Mayor? There will be plenty of coffee waiting for you at Colson Bakery.
• And finally, all of Park Slope is grieving the loss of Dixon’s Bike Shop patriarch Harold Derrit Dixon, whose shop on Union Street (next to the famous Park Slope Food Co-op) is a neighborhood fixture. Mayoral candidate Dianne Morales was just there on Saturday (albeit without our old man editor mentioned in the tweet):